Air Fried Chicken Cartilages with Shichimi Powder

Crispy fried foods are incredibly tempting, but sometimes the desire to eat conflicts with the body's need to avoid greasiness and heat. However, the emergence of air fryers has significantly changed people's perceptions of fried food...

What is Air Frying?

The principle of air frying involves using high-temperature hot air circulated rapidly around the food, creating a "fried" effect by forcing the food's own oils out. In other words, ingredients naturally high in fats, such as chicken wings or meat cuts, can achieve a crispy texture more easily. Air frying thus reduces the need for large amounts of additional oil traditionally used in deep frying to achieve crunchiness, making it ideal for those who enjoy crispy textures but also seek healthier options. It's no wonder that air fryers have become increasingly popular in recent years.

Remove the yellow fat attached to each piece of chicken cartilage to make it healthier to eat.

How to Handle Chicken Cartilage?

This time, BigBoy prepared this Japanese izakaya snack using chicken cartilage, using an air fryer to achieve a crispy texture inside and out, making it clean and simple. The chicken cartilage doesn't require any special preparation steps—just wash and dry before seasoning.

However, BigBoy prefers a healthier approach, so I remove the yellow fat attached to each piece of chicken cartilage. Although it takes about ten minutes to trim each piece, excess fat isn't good when consumed in large quantities, so it's better to save room for other delicious foods. For seasoning, the chicken cartilage is seasoned with salt and pepper as a base, sprinkled with shichimi togarashi immediately after frying. Adding a squeeze of lemon juice when eating gives it a refreshing and delightful twist. If you have some egg yolk sauce at home, it's also a great dipping option!